Market demand for smaller and more functional electronic devices has driven the development of semiconductor components, including semiconductor packages, and entire systems disposed on a semiconductor chip.
Surface mount devices provide the desired electronic component(s) and device functionality in a single package. Such surface mount devices are selectively mounted to a printed circuit board, for example by producers of automotive or telecommunication equipment. Typically, a lower electrode of the surface mount device is soldered onto the printed circuit board. The placement of the solder has the potential to undesirably cover more of the surface mount device than desired. In addition, it is desired to control the amount and thickness of the solder because increased solder thickness has the potential to undesirably increase the electrical resistance between the device and the board. Thus, solder placement presents challenges that have the potential to limit the electrical performance of the completed electronic assembly.
Surface mount devices are useful in a wide range of applications, but the difficulty in handling presents economical and electrical challenges. For these and other reasons there is a need for the present invention.